Christina Ledra

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The last three NHL drafts have been stocked with generational talent at the top, with less of an emphasis on the most decent duo. It's not often that the top two picks get billed as sure-fire talents that are destined to succeed for the teams who draft them, but the hype isn't necessarily a bunch of hot air. There is precedent since the NHL began its amateur draft in 1963 for the top two picks to pan out and enjoy long, successful, even Hall of Fame careers.

These players don't necessarily enjoy all or most of their success with the team that selected them in the draft, but there are a few that stayed the duration of their long careers and served as the faces of the franchise for many years. Having an elite player stay in one place for more than 10 years might prove to be a casualty of the salary cap era.

But more than a few times in the NHL draft history, No. 2 has been just as good as No. 1. Here is the list of the 10 best No. 1 and No. 2 overall draft duos in NHL history.

Stamkos was considered a can’t-miss pure goal scorer and has lived up to that billing. Doughty is arguably the best defenseman in the league and is likely to start picking up individual awards to go with his Stanley Cup rings and Olympic gold medals.

Ovechkin has established himself as one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history and might still be underrated because he has never played for a Stanley Cup. Malkin doesn’t have as many individuals awards as Ovechkin, but does have the titles and a Conn Smythe.

Fleury turned out to be the franchise goalie the Penguins were hoping for. He and Staal led the teams that drafted them to a Stanley Cup. Staal has the most goals and points of the 2003 draft class, which also included Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Zach Parise.

Both were faces of their franchises for 20 and 22 years, respectively. Modano became one of the greatest U.S.-born players in NHL history in his 21-year career, 20 of which was with Minnesota/Dallas, and a Hall of Famer in 2014. Linden spent his entire career with the Canucks and finished with 994 points.

Pierre Turgeon played for six teams in 19 seasons and had 1,424 points in his career, though he never played for a Stanley Cup. Shanahan was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013 after a 21-year career with six teams and three Stanley Cups with Detroit.

This duo is likely to stand the test of time as the greatest 1 and 2 overall selections in NHL history. Even though Dionne had no Stanley Cups to LaFleur’s five, both are Hall of Famers and Dionne finished with more career points (1812) than LaFleur (1487).